Simba's Pride Redone
by C. O. Rosette
Summary: An AU take on Simba's Pride. Simba the new lion king is a just king that rules a happy kingdom and is admired throughout it. He has two cubs, loving mate, and loyal subjects. Simba has not yet been exposed to what kinds of choices a real king must make to protect his pride. His kingdom is suddenly threatened and now Simba is forced to decide what is best for them.
1. Chapter 1

There's still a lot of land that was left unexplored for a series of decades. "Everything the light touches" seems to become not exactly a joke, but still a bit of a cliche among the pridelanders. Though they still are very proud of their kingdom and their new king, queen and now prince and princess. Still, and especially with the recent crowning of Simba and Nala as well as the birth of their cubs, the whole idea about ruling literally everything you can see is sort of seen as a smaller scope of the big picture. Nonetheless, the animals are pretty happy with things the way they are, especially after the downturn of the kingdom that was Scar's reign. Everyone is certainly glad that's over.

But every once in a while, maybe this happens to one of the more adventurous of the animals, a thought will cross their minds and they wonder about what exactly _is_ out there. The elephant graveyard is now accessible as the hyenas have come live in the pridelands after Scar's downfall. There wasn't really any stopping them anyway. The hyenas were only following Scar for the promise of food, and now under Simba's law, there is right for all to reside in his territory if they are only trying to survive. That sort of demysterifies the graveyard since everyone has eventually explored it at least once now.

If they are really curious enough, they may go ask Simba and Nala's loyal friends, Timon or maybe Pumbaa. Before Simba returned and defeated Scar, they used to live in an oasis somewhere off, maybe not too far away from the pridelands, since Simba could travel there through the desert and still be sort of alive with not much to eat while he was a cub, and could easily, although hurriedly given the situation, travel back in a short amount of time when he was full grown. The description of the oasis does sound quite intriguing. When asked, both Timon and Pumbaa, though each in their own way, describe a gorgeous paradise with no predators where you can swing on vines all you want and there are never any droughts, so food is the plentiful. Unfortunately, the only problems it has, they say, is that there's really no one else there. They say that it it did get lonely living there just the two of them and even with the inclusion of Simba, no amount of swinging vines or water holes is anything compared to being surrounded by a pride of mighty lions that will protect you at any cost. Even Timon, who was initially very afraid of the carnivorous cats, is now very proud to say he is glad that he chose to live with Simba and Nala and the pridelands. Pumbaa specifically lived in a savanna a lot like the pridelands, nothing really special.

The only other one who really knows anything about the land outside the pridelands is Rafiki, Simba's mandrill adviser, who lives in a very old, boabab tree at the very edge of the pridelands, so it would make sense that he would know the most about what lies beyond the light. His tree, in fact, is said to sit right where all the borders of all the lion prides' kingdoms. Kind of like an interterritorial epicenter of some sort. Sometimes the animals from other kingdoms will visit the pridelands mostly to exchange information with Simba and Nala's pride. Each different kingdom had it's own little style, some known for their lush trees and rich, running river, and other for the mountains they reside in. No though they all were pretty interesting, no kingdom sounded any better than another, and Rafiki's descriptions of them are no different.

In short, the thought of what's out there does come up every now and then, maybe more prominently than before, but still not prominently enough to actually make an impact. No one really seems to have the will or inspiration to go and find out, so the answer is pretty much left ambiguous. Maybe the animals would change there mind, though, if they knew what is about to happen may affect them and their lives forever.

* * *

There is one territory apart from the others that really isn't actually a territory at all. It is a barren, empty land that is pretty much uninhabited except for when travelers pass through every once in a while. A certain group of travelers slowly and tiredly trek through the forgotten wilderness. They are a pride of lions that no one has met before. Their fur is not like those of the lions in the pridelands. Instead they have very dark fur, and all the males have midnight, black manes. As they stagger across the lost void, their starved tongues lolling around in and out of their mouths and their rib cages sticking through their fur, they are indeed a despairing sight to behold. One would wonder exactly where they came from and just how much of what they've been through. They have just recently lost their kingdom and now must go in search of a new one.

Their previous home was not a bad one. It had enough food for everyone, along with a royal family of five, the king, queen, princess, and two princes. The oldest is an adolescent male named Nuka, the middle cub is a lioness, Vitani, and the youngest is an adorable, little rascal named Kovu. Life was good and all was peaceful in their thriving domain until a terrible storm hit the place, wiping out all the resources and killing the king. There was no hope for survival in that place even after the storm was over, so the queen, Zira, had to lead her battered pride away to find a new sanctuary for them all to live in.

The tired pride continues to plod on, their heads down. But Kovu eventually looks up at the sight of a mysterious figure in the distance. "Mama," he pokes Zira's leg with his tiny paw. "What's that?"

Zira looks up to see the figure getting bigger and more visible as they approach, and the smell! As she raises her nose to the sky and takes only a brief sniff, she can already smell all sorts of life. Healthy life among plants and water. This could be it! They may finally have found their sanctuary. She points her paw at the figure ahead and exclaims, "Fellow lions! It is the tree! The great tree we've have heard many stories about! We've finally found it!" Despite how tired and weak they just felt a second ago, the pride starts racing as fast as they can towards the tree in the distance. Life seems to immediately sprout up out of nowhere as they get even closer. A river appears alongside them with antelope and elephants drinking the fresh water. Grass comes up under their feet. This is the most joy the pride has felt since they left their home. for they now feel there is hope for a new one.


	2. Chapter 2

If Simba were to describe the life of a king in one word, he would say that it is busy. His life is extremely busy. This is not to say that Simba is a bad king. Not at all! In fact, there is no doubt in his subjects' minds that Simba is exactly what they needed after the devastation that his uncle, Scar, caused, and a great follow up to his father, Mufasa.

The weird thing is whenever Simba thinks back to the days he spent frolicking around the pridelands with Nala as cubs, he wanted the title of king so badly and had know idea of the trials and tribulations that are needed for any ruler to go through in order to earn their place as leader of a whole kingdom. He wonders sometimes if he were ever able to send a message to his younger self- maybe from the clouds- to warn him about the taxing responsibilities of being king, his cub-self would somehow- whether through a sudden epiphany or just plain reason- be able to believe him. But whenever he finds himself thinking these things, Simba always smiles shakes his head, amused at himself for assuming such things. Little Simba is not going to listen to anyone, not even if his future self tried to convince him. Simba knows himself enough to know how stubbornly ambitious both he and Nala were back when they were cubs.

Simba also wonders how Nala feels about becoming royalty. She makes an exceptionally good queen, a great one, in fact. She is a loving mother of Kiara and Kopa and a supportive mate, always helping Simba through tough times and working with him to make decisions and fix tight situations the kingdom may be going through at the time, and although the pride is more open to feedback now than it used to be since after Simba's crowning the pridelands have long-since become a democracy, it still doesn't stop him from wondering if Nala would still choose the path royalty if she were given the choice. Sure, she willingly became Simba's mate while showing no hesitance to the commitment she was making at the time, but was she really, truly okay with her new title? Maybe didn't really want to be queen but just wouldn't tell Simba because she loved him. Was she willing to accept the vast amount of responsibility that being queen had in store for her? Did she even know of the responsibility? Simba can't be sure of any of this, but what he can be sure of is that Nala would probably deny all of this if he ever tried to talk with her about it. He just decides that he's happy with things the way they are, responsibility and all.

Simba turns around from where he was standing at the edge of Pride Rock, overlooking the vast landscape of his kingdom, and silently pads over to the protective cave that his pride sleeps in, eager to be with his new family another night. A wide array of bright, shining stars align the night sky, making Simba nothing more than a mere silhouette against it to passing bystanders. Not that he would know that.

The young king silently creeps into his royal cave where his pride plus a few, trusted advisers sleep. The inside of the cave is very dark, but Simba's feline eyes don't need much help from scent to pick out his beautiful wife, the small tuft of mane on his feisty son, and the orange coat on his playful daughter as they sleep in a collective pile in the far back, seemingly guarded by all the other sleeping bodies. In quiet eagerness, the king cordially steps over his fellow lions to get to them.

He finally does, nearly tripping on a fellow lioness named Aailyah in the process. He stands over his sleeping family, gazing at them with adoring eyes. Nala stirs and rolls over onto her back. Her eyes begin to bat a few times before fully waking up and focusing on Simba. Simba smiles lovingly at her and she returns the stare. They gaze into each others eyes for a little while longer until a disturbing scuffling sound just outside the mouth of the cave interrupts them and wakes a few of the other lions.

Simba looks back up from his family, "Who goes there?"

The scuffling grows louder and Simba can smell a familiar scent at the other end of the cave, a scent he has known well since he was a newborn cub. The others seem to notice too. A dark, bipedal figure spreads it's way across the mouth of the cave. It holds a stick with two round balls on the top that make a distinct clattering noise when shaken. "Rafiki!" At the sound of their king calling the name of the beloved shaman, the rest of the bodies in the cave start to shift groggily, not wanting to miss out on any juicy information.

The dark is not making Rafiki's visibility any more prominent as he steps into the cave of welcoming roars. Simba bounds up to him, "It's been so long!" He embraces him. It's to dark to see now, but everyone is sure that Rafiki is wearing that same, wise, old grin that he always has on whenever they see him. This thesis is further supported by his lighthearted chuckles echoing throughout the cave.

Everyone is awake now. Some are still just stretching and yawning, not yet fully aware of what is going on. The royal family comes up to the old mandrill. Kiara bounces up ahead of everybody in hyperactive joy, "Yay! Rafiki's here!"

Kopa comes up behind her and jumps over his sister and lightly onto the shaman, careful not to put anymore weight on his bad knee, "Hey, Rafiki!"

Nala comes up last, "It's good to see you, Rafiki."

"It's good to see you again, too, my queen," the wise mandrill smiles.

The big crowd in the cave has now gathered around to here the news. "So," Simba steps forward, motioning for the others to step back and give the shaman space. "What brings you here this time?"

At the request to get on topic, Rafiki's lighthearted demeanor immediately turns serious and he motions for Simba and Nala to come outside the cave for a meeting, "Actually, I have some news you may be interested in."


	3. Chapter 3

It all seemed to happen way too fast for something as naïve as a cub to muster in a few, short minutes, even if that cub is on currently on his way to reaching adolescence. Kopa and his sister sit a little ways off with Timon and Pumbaa, watching their parents' conversation with the strange pride of dark lions. Kopa suspects Kiara is too young to have much understanding on just what is going on, so he decides he should pay attention to what's being discussed as it could come in handy later.

Surprise is an understatement when it comes to how the pride felt after Rafiki told them there was a whole kingdom of barbary lions with no king taking shelter on their side of his tree. Kopa doesn't think he's ever seen any animals, let alone a full pride, that starved before. There was obviously a shortage in resources in their original kingdom, forcing them to become nomads and travel through other territories. It's still a shock to have seen fur that ragged with patches of skin everywhere, revealing bony rib cages and dozens of flies swarming around a horrid smell that wrinkles the nose. Simba and Nala must've noticed this too because barely a word was spoken during the two prides' first encounter before they somewhat hurriedly suggested they discuss things down at the waterhole.

The strange pride seems a lot more cheerful and open to discussion now that they have fresh meat and water in their systems. It's a noticeably large contrast to the scrawny felines begging and wheezing for help by the tree. Now they're talking professionally and almost casually amongst themselves and a few of the lions of the pridelands. A majority of the barbary pride lies along the bank of the waterhole, astonishingly at ease. A few of the cubs romp through a patch of grass. Kiara seems to have made a few friends as Kopa spots her chasing a dark cub about the same age and size as her in and out of the waterhole. Her and Kopa's parents sit by the bank, seemingly relaxed in a deep conversation with a coco-pelted lioness Kopa assumes to be the pride's queen.

"I see. So the storms destroyed your kingdom so you had no choice but to leave in search of a better home," Nala contemplates what the lioness just explained thoughtfully. The barbary queen, whose name was revealed to be Zira, now nods from her stretched out position along the bank. Like her pride, she seems a lot more relaxed now that her immediate needs have been tended to.

"And I am to understand these disasters took the life of your king, leaving you to rule without a partner..," Simba also confirms, a touch of sympathy coming to his voice though he tries his best to hide it. He doesn't know what he would do if he ever lost Nala.

Zira nods again, "My three cubs and I were left to run the kingdom on our own. I think in the end it made us stronger as individuals as well as a family and pride."

"We're so sorry about your loss," Nala looks at Zira with the slightest hint of pity in her eyes. "It looks like the majority of your pride survived the famine. That's a good thing."

"Yes," Zira agrees, contentedly observing her happy pride. "I'm very proud to say most of us lived to see your kindness because we did not give up. We may be famished now but we're stronger than we look. I appreciate what you're doing for or pride. If not for you, we would be dead, and for that, I am very grateful."

Simba smiles, flattered, "Consider it a token of our generosity. We ask nothing in return but that you live in peace with the rest of our kingdom as long as you're here. We will provide you with this waterhole as well as the best hunting spots, and we'll even have scouts out to assist you in searching for a new home."

"Thank you," Zira closes her eyes, so enamored to be enshrouded with such generosity that she needs a while to think about what to do next. Her eyes suddenly harden. "But there is another reason we were forced to travel here. King Simba, Queen Nala, there is something very important your pride must know about."

Simba and Nala look at each other for a moment, surprised at Zira's sudden, serious turn, "What do you mean, Queen Zira?"

"The storms aren't the only things that drove us out of our territory," Zira lowers her voice, almost as if she doesn't want anyone else to hear. "I regret not telling my pride about this, but I feel it is for the best if they not panic."

"Is there something wrong?" both Simba and Nala listen intently, beginning to feel alarmed at the sincerity of the queen's voice.

Zira shakes her head, "I don't mean to alarm you but a think your kingdom may be in grave danger." The king and queen of the pridelands nod for her to go on. "I can't say it here. We have to go somewhere private for me to tell you and then you can decide whether or not to tell your pride."

Kopa watches as the barbary queen stands up and motions with her tail for his parents to follow her. They head for Rafiki's tree. Kopa watches them disappear behind it and out of sight. What was Queen Zira talking about and why did she want to keep it a secret from her subjects? He returns his gaze to the watering hole. Neither prides seem to notice where their leaders have gone. Kiara is still playing with that other cub. Kopa begins to worry a little. What if Zira is right and the their home is in danger? Will they be forced out to fend for themselves as well?

After a while, Simba and Nala finally step out from behind the tree with Zira behind them. Their concerned expressions catch the attention of most of the lions who then look to them to see what's the matter. Kopa's parents stand gravely across the waterhole, "Pride lions, there is something we need to let you know. Something very important."


End file.
